Sections offered FALL 2023:
#34613 |
CHRISTOPHER LUBIENSKI |
MW 4:45 PM–6:05 PM
|
ED 1230 |
CLASS NOTES: IUB GenEd S&H credit; COLL (CASE) S&H Breadth of Inquiry credit
“School Crises and Savior Complexes” critically examines portrayals of problems and solutions facing schools as presented in popular culture, news media, and political discourse. Popular representations of schooling in America in movies, television, and other media often portray a system in crisis characterized by underperformance, violence, and culture-war politics. Using lenses from different disciplines, including sociology, political science, and media studies, the course will scrutinize claims, assumptions and policies as they are advanced in the popular imagination. We will analyze media representations of schools compared to data on the issues schools actually face, questioning how claims of a “crisis” are accurate or misplaced. Of particular interest are cinematic portrayals of charismatic teachers and reformers who help poor and minority children “beat the odds,” raising questions about the power of individual “saviors,” “rebels,” “enforcers,” and “innovators” to overcome systemic challenges to providing equal educational opportunity for all.
The course is designed as a critical introduction to education policy issues for students interested in the general topic, regardless of whether they intend to pursue a career in education or public policy. No prior experience in education studies is required, although students may find themselves questioning their own past experiences and assumptions in K-12 classrooms, as well as their own perceptions of media representations of schools. In considering the major issues and reform movements in K-12 education policy, the course will rely predominantly on a case study approach based around a range of films and other media, combined with group work, short lectures, and the opportunity to pursue individual interests within the scope of the course.